More than 100 people assembled in front of City Hall yesterday to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising and to protest China's Olympic torch relay through San Francisco.

After a series of speeches and songs, demonstrators marched to the Downtown Berkeley BART station and continued their protest in San Francisco, where they planned to end the day with a candlelight vigil in Union Square.

Tibetan supporters were commemorating the anniversary of the Chinese repression of a 1959 revolt in the traditional capital of Lhasa, Tibet, a landmark event in the Chinese occupation that began in 1951.

There have been numerous incidents recorded since of human rights violations and political marginalization, protesters said.

"Lately, (the offenses) have been worse," said Ngodup Tsering, President of the Tibetan Association of Northern California. "They have now been trying to introduce a lot of measures that are highly invasive and repressive. We believe it's like a second invasion."

Berkeley City Councilmember Kriss Worthington also made an appearance at the demonstration to show his support for the Tibetan cause.

"As we enter the year of the Olympics, I think we need to send the loudest and clearest message to China and to all the people of the world that we are in solidarity with all the people in Tibet," Worthington told the group.

Thepo Tulku, a member of Bay Area Friends of Tibet, expressed his fear for Tibet's future under Chinese repression.

"My major concern is that in ten years the language and culture of Tibet will become absorbed into China," Tulku said.

Tags: PROTEST, CITY GOVERNMENT